Well boring bucket and method of boring wells



J. R. BETTS- 2,245,750

WELL BdRING BUCKET ND METHOD OF BORING WELLS June 17, 1941.

Filed Nov. 25, 1938 INVENTOR. John R. Bcffs ATTORNEY.

Patented JuneI'Z, 1941 WELL BORING BUCKET AND METHOD OF BORING WELLSJohn R. Betta, Kearney, Nebr.

Application November 25, 1938, Serial No. 242,330

tillaims.

My invention relates to the sinking of wells and it includes both anovel form of well boring apparatus and a novel method of boring wells.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of a well boringtool in which kinetic energy is stored up to be utilized in boring thewell either with or without the use of additional motive power.

Another object is the provision of a well boring bucket having a wellboring auger therein together with means for holding the bucket againstrotation during the rotation of the auger.

Another object is the provision of a well boring bucket which is adaptedto penetrate the soil and to encase the soil, the bucket being adaptedto be lifted for removing the soil from the bucket at points outside thewell cavity.

Another object is the provision of a well boring bucket having openingswith closures in the sides thereof whereby the soil within the bucketmay be discharged through the openings.

Another object is the provision of a well boring bucket having an augerwithin the bucket at the lower extremity thereof and having means forforcing the water out of the bucket through the auger.

Another object is the provision a well boring bucket having dependingperipherally arranged spurs for preventing the rotation of the bucketduring the well boring operation.

Another object is the provision of a well boring bucket havingperipherally positioned brackets at the lower edge of the bucket withmeans for interchangeably securing 'spurs thereto.

Another object is the provision of an auger within a nonrotatlng bucket,the auger being associated with flapper valves for admitting soil intothe bucket but preventing friable soil from falling out when the augerceases to rotate.

Figure l is a view in vertical section of the well-boring bucket.

' Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of the auger and associatedparts.

Figure 3 is a view in elevation showing the modified form of spur usedon the bucket.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the lower portion of the bucketand showing particularly some of the details of the auger.

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view of the lower end of the bucket anda portion of the auger with the flap removed.

The bucket I0 is cylindrical in form and it is closed at its upperextremity as shown in Figure l. The bucket is divided into twocompartments by means of a partition H, the upper compartment beingclosed while the lower is open at its lower extremity. Centrallypositioned in the bucket is a vertical shaft l2 which has bearings atl3, l4 and ii. The upper extremity is connected to any suitable primemover such as the electric motor l6 having connections at H for drivingthe motor. The electric motor i6 may, of course, be replaced by anyother suitable means for driving the shaft l2. A brace i8 is secured tothe inner walls of the bucket for the purpose of supporting the motorl6. The entire device is constructed so that the lower end portion ofthe bucket is designed to penetrate the soil and to cncase the soil tobe discharged from the lower compartment after drawing the bucket out ofthe well cavity. In the operation of the bucket, the auger is rotated bythe shaft i2 which is secured to the auger but the bucket must be heldagainst rotation during the boring operation. For this reason I providea plurality of spurs I 9 peripherally arranged about the lower end ofthe bucket and adapted to enter the soil in advance of the auger. Thesespurs are designed solely for resisting the tendency of the bucket torotate, but this tendency is also resisted to some extent by thefriction of the side walls of the cavity. The bucket is to be withdrawnfrom the cavity at intervals in order to remove the soil which hasaccumulated in the lower compartment of the bucket. In ordertoconveniently remove the soil from the bucket, I provide a plurality ofgates 20 which are hinged at 2| to be continuous during operation withthe side walls of the bucket. Other gates 22 are similarly hinged to thebucket and they facilitate the insertion of a crowbar or other tool fordislodging' soil which has become packed in the lower compartment of thebucket.

While the shaft I2 is to be driven by the motor 16, the arrangement issuch that the shaft it during the boring operation is driven through thekinetic energy of the plurality of weights 23. These weights 23 are indisc form and of very heavy metal; They are keyed to rotate with theshaft i2 and they are provided with collars at the upper and lowersurfaces to contact with each other. In the operation of the device theentire bucket is first positioned above the well cavity and supported onany suitable platform in the vertical position. The spurs l9 engage theplatform to prevent rotation of the bucket I0. Power is applied to theshaft i2 which causes the weights 23 to rotate with the shaft. Thisrotation is necessarily slow at the start but the speed may be increaseduntil the desired speed to extend the boring operation at the-bottom ofthe well cavity as will be subsequently described. The rotation of theauger shaves oi! the soil at the bottom of the cavity and lifts it intothe lower compartment of the bucket. This rotation may be supplementedby the motor ll or it may automatically stop when the energy in theweights 23 is exhausted. The bucket is then raised by means of anysuitable hoisting mechanism engaging the swivel 24 until the bucketagain rests on the platform. After dislodging and removing the soil fromthe bucket, the process is repeated until the desired depth of the wellhas been attained.

It is to be understood that the auger will function at all speeds, andwhile the high speed is of course desirable, it is not essential forcutting. The extreme weight of the rotating element while desirable isnot essential in so far as the alignment of the tool is concerned, butit is essential in the wheel element for this weight combined with therotativ'e speed determines the amount of kinetic energy stored in thewheel battery, which energy will be delivered to the auger when thelatter contacts the soil.

The auger at the lower extremity of the shaft I2 is similar to the prioraugers employed in boring wells, but owing to the high speed at which itoperates, there are a number 'of departures from the prior augers' andthese departures are of vital importance in the successful operation ofthe boring bucket. As will be seen in Figure 2, theauger includes acylindrical portion 2! having an external diameter which is slightlyless than the internal diameter of the casing Hi. This cylindricalportion is open at two or more vertical linm and is out turned andbeveled to form cutting edges 28 as shown in Figure 4. The rotation ofthe auger results in the cutting edges 28 shaving of! the vertical wallsof the cavity and pushing the soil inwardly and toward the center ofrotation of the auger. At the bottom of the cylindrical portion 25 is anunder reamer consisting also of two or more blades 21 which are designedto shave oil the soil in the bottom of the well cavity and to transportthat soil upwardly in the lower chamber of the casing III. In theordinary auger, the movement of the soil is slow due to the slowrotation of the shaft. Where the shaft is rotated at the speed which Icontemplate employing, the movement of the soil on the blades 21 isexceedingly rapid so that the tendency is for the soil to be hurled uptoward the top of the lower chamber of the bucket. To accentuate thismovement I turn the discharge end of the blades 21- upwardly as bestshown at 8 in Figure 2. In addition, I employ valves 28 which are hingedat 30 to the auger and which tend to assume their open position inresponse to the pressure of the incoming soil supplemented by thecentrifugal force during the rotation of the auger, but which closeautomatically under the weight of the soil in the bucket portance ofthis resides in the retention in the bucket of sand and other freeflowing soil.

The spurs i 8 may be fixed in position as shown in Figure 1 and they maybe so employed when the soil is fairly uniform from the top to thebottom of the well cavity. Such conditions are very seldom encounteredand it is usually found that the soil varies between rather -ide limitsfrom exceedingly hard to very soft soil. A spur which is suitable foronekind of soil might be wholly unsuitable for another. If the spurs arevery long they will function perfectly in soft sand, but they are apt tobe broken off in hard soil that is encountered. On the other hand, ifthe spurs are short and stubby, they will provide suff iicient frictionin very hard soils but they will not function in soft soils. For thisreason I provide interchangeable spurs as shown in Figure 3. The upperportion ll of the spur is welded or otherwise secured to the casing IIIwith the lower end of the spur positioned above the under reamer. Thelower portion 82 of the spur is adapted to be securedto the portion 3|by any suitable releasable connectionsuch as the male and female screwsin the parts 3i and 32.- In this man- 7 ner it is possible to providespurs 32 of various when the rotation of the auger ceases. The imlengthsso that the change may be made quickly and easily while the bucket isoutside of the well cavity.

The partition is relatively water tight and air tight. The result isthat the bucket functions,

much as a diving bell does with the result that there is usually a veryheavy pressure inside the lower compartment of the bucket. Some of thiscompressed air will seep out through the packing about the shaft l2 andinto the upper chamber of the bucket, but water and mud cannot as a rulepass from the lower chamber into the upper chamber. There are times inthe boring of a well when it is desirable that the air pressure bematerially increased in the lower chamber of the bucket. For this reasonI provide an air connection 33 for forcing air under high compressioninto the upper chamber of the bucket. To permit this compressed air topass from the upper chamber into the lower chamber, I provide a checkvalve 84 which prevents the upward passage of air but permits the air topass down. The compressed air is turned into the bucket on its descentand while it is rotating at high speed. When the auger enters the waterplane the air tends to form a large bubble keeping the auger free fromeverything but air until it comes into contact with the soil.

The shaft I2 is of fixed length for delivering the power from the primemover to rotate the auger at the bottom of the shaft. In.this way Iavoid the diiliculties encountered when a slow moving shaft must belengthened in accordance with the depth of the well cavity which isbeing bored. Not only is this difficulty avoided, but the far greaterdifllculty of maintaining the bore in a straight line is also avoided. Aslow cutting auger without much weight behind it is very apt to becomeslightly inclined when uneven soil is encountered and this inclinationmay grow to serious proportions to result in misalignment of the bore.Owing 'to the high speed of the shaft and the great weight on the shaftmy well bucket resembles the movements of a top. Such a top if it hassuilicient speed is held normally in the vertical position. When thebucket is ready to be lowered into the well cavity it is 2,245,7sosuspended vertically and the result is that the great weight and thehigh speed impart a gyroscopic effect on the deviceas a whole tomaintain the initial direction of the shaft. No dimculty is thereforeencountered in misaligned well cavities. The auger is subjected to theconstant weight. of the discs '23 which firmly maintain the auger in aconstant pressure against the bottom of the well' cavity. The speed atwhich the discs 23 rotate. which may be at the periphery as high as twomiles per minute, causes a very rapid rotation of the auger, theeflectbeing that of a rotating pile driver which delivers a rotating blow.

The operation of the well boring bucket in principle is the sameregardless of-the character of the soil, but this operation variesslightly open at itslower end and divided into upper and lowercompartments, an anger in the lower compartment atthe lower endthereof,'said auger being adapted to raise the soil removed into saidlower compartment, means in the upper compartment for rotatingsaidauger, a check valve between said upper and lower compartments dependingupon the variations in the soil. Whenever a very soft soil isencountered, the lower compartment of the bucket is apt to fill beforethe energy in the weights is exhausted. In passing through such stratait is merely necessary to lower the bucket before the maximum speedhasbeen acquired so that the energy in the weights is exhausted beforethe soil compartment of the bucket iscompletely filled. Other soils areso refractorythat the energy in the weights may be exhausted with only asmall charge of soil in the bucket in which case the energy in theweights may be supplemented by the operation of the motor. When only asmall portion of the bucket is filled in one operation, it is notnecessary that the bucket be withdrawn and its contents be dischargedevery time the rotation ceases. In such cases it is advisable to repeatthe operation as many times as is necessary by elevating the bucket to-apoint where the auger no longer engages the soil and to start theoperation of the motor. This may be repeated as often as necessary foraccumulating the desired amount of soil in the bucket before raising andemptying the bucket.

When the auger operates through a stratum of water, the bubble ofcompressed air will expel the water through the bottom of the bucket tothus facilitate the descent of the bucket until the auger again comesinto contact with the soil at the bottom of the well cavity. The doorsare'provided with any suitable latches 33' but the air'pressure isfurther held by means of rubber or any other suitable gaskets 34 so that1 the air can escape only through the bottom of the bucket. d

It should be noted that the universal coupling 35 is directly under themotor and directly over the wheel battery and in line with the verticalaxis of the entire mechanism. Being thus balanced and suspended, thegyroscopic effect of the rapidly rotating heavy weights is to maintainthe travel of the auger in a straight line direction. It should also benoted that the cutting edges 26 cut a cylindrical bore whose diameter isslightly greater than the diameter of the bucket; thus facilitating thedescent of the bucket;

I claim as my invention:

1. A well boring bucket comprising av casing open at its lower end, arevolving auger at the lower end of said casing adapted to'raise thesoil removed into said casing, means for introducing air under pressureinto the lower portion of said casing to force water accumulated duringthe boring operation out of the lower end of the casing, and means forrotating said auger.

2. A well boring device comprising a casing opening only in thedirection of the lower partment, and means for introducing air underpressure into'the upper compartment to passinto the lower compartmentand force water accu mulated during the boring operation out of' thelower end-of the compartment.

3. A method of boring a well which comprises A providing awell boringbucket having a boring tool therein and a mass secured to said boringtool, rotating said boring tool and mass while said bucket is out ofcontact with the bottom of the well. until said mass and said boringtool attain a high rate of speed, and then lowering said bucket intocontact with the bottom of the well without any means for effecting thecontinued rotation of the boring tool other than the kinetic energy oftherotating mass.

4. A method of boring a well which comprises providing a well boringbucket having an auger therein and a mass secured to said auger,rotating said auger and mass while said bucket is out of the well untilsaid mass and said auger attain a high rate of speed, then lowering saidbucket into the well without any means for efiecting the continuedrotation of the boring tool other than the kinetic energy of therotating mass, and withH drawing said bucket after said kinetic energyhas been expended.

5. A well boring bucket comprising a non-rotating casing open at itslower end, a revolving auger at the lower end of said casing adapted toraise the soil removed into said casing, said auger being ofsubstantially the same diameter as said casing and being substantiallyimmovable with respect to said casing in a longitudinal direction, meansfor rotating said auger, and means rigidly secured to the lower endoi'said casing and projecting longitudinally downwardly therefrom closelyadjacent said auger to engage the soil adjacent that 'being bored toprevent rotation of said casing, said last named means having arelatively small transverse'dimension so as not to hinder the downwardmovement of said casing and auger.

6. A well boring device comprising a non-rotating casing open at itslower end, a revolving boring tool at the lower end of said casing saidboring tool having a boring portion of substantially the same diameteras said casing and being substantially immovable with respect to saidcasing in a longitudinal direction, means in said casing for revolvingsaid boring tool, and spurs rigidly secured to the lower end of saidcasing and projecting downwardly therefrom closely adjacent said boringtool to engage the soil in advance of that being bored to preventrotation of said casing.

7. A well boring device comprising a non-rotating casing open at itslower end, a revolving boring tool at the lower end of said casing. saidvanee of that being bored to prevent rotation of said casing. said spursbeing detachably secured to said casing to permit the attachment orspurs of the proper length for the soil being bored;

8. A method of boring as well which comprises providing a well boringbucket having a boring tool therein, a mass secured to said boring tool,and an electric motor for rotating said mass and boring tool, energizingsaid motor while said bucket is out 01' contact with the bottom of thewelluntil said was and said boring tool attain a high rate of speed.deenergizing said motor, and then lowering said bucket into contact withthebottorn of the well without any means for efiecting the continuedrotation 01 the boring tool other than the kinetic energy of therotating JOHN R. BE'I'I'S.

